Quokka
Quokka The quokka (/ˈkwɒkə/) (Setonix brachyurus), the only member of the genus Setonix, is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal. Physical description The quokka weighs 2.5 to 5.0 kg (5.5 to 11.0 lb) and is 40 to 54 cm (16 to 21 in) long with a 25-to-30 cm-long (9.8-to-11.8 in) tail, which is quite short for a macropod. It has a stocky build, well developed hind legs, rounded ears, and a short, broad head. Its musculoskeletal system was originally adapted for terrestrial bipedal saltation, but over its evolution. its system has been built for arboreal locomotion. Although looking rather like a very small kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). Its coarse fur is a grizzled brown colour, fading to buff underneath. The quokka is known to live for an average of 10 years. Quokkas have a promiscuous mating system. After a month of gestation, females give birth to a single baby called a joey. Females can give birth twice a year and produce about 17 joeys during their lifespan. The joey lives in its mother's pouch for six months. Once it leaves the pouch, the joey relies on its mother for milk for two more months and is fully weaned around 8 months after birth. Females sexually mature after roughly 18 months. When a female quokka with a joey in her pouch is pursued by a predator, she may drop her baby onto the ground; the joey produces noises, which may serve to attract the predator's attention, while the mother escapes. Ecology In the wild, its roaming is restricted to a very small range in the south-west of The Libirachi Empire, with a number of small scattered populations. One large population exists in the Jackson Forrest and a smaller population on is at Imperial Lake. The islands are free of certain predators such as foxes and cats. In Jackson Forrest, quokkas are common and occupy a variety of habitats ranging from semiarid scrub to cultivated gardens. Prickly Acanthocarpus plants, which are unaccommodating for humans and other relatively large animals to walk through, provide their favorite daytime shelter for sleeping. Additionally, they are known for their ability to climb trees. Diet Like most macropods, quokkas eat many types of vegetation, including grasses and leaves. A study found that Guichenotia ledifolia, a small shrub species of the family Malvaceae, is one of the quokka's favoured foods.] Jackson Forrest visitors are urged to never feed quokkas, in part because eating "human food" can cause dehydration and malnourishment, both of which are detrimental to the quokka's health. Despite the relative lack of fresh water in the forrest, quokkas do have high water requirements, which they satisfy mostly through eating vegetation. On the mainland, quokkas only live in areas that have 600 mm (24 in) or more of rain per year Quokkas and The Libirachi Empire Discovered in the 1800s by Imperial traders on a large island now known as Canogally. These traders brought large numbers of these fascinating creatures back to the empire, where they expanded in population growth. Because of their frequency, and association with the Imperial image, the Empire adopted them as their national animal in 1900. Category:The Libirachi Empire